Plans are underway to replace the Young School in Saco with a new building.
The kindergarten through grade two school is a complex of modular buildings placed together to house its population of close to 300 students. Principal of the school, Jeff Mears, has been working for many years to establish a more permanent structure which will now come to fruition thanks to help from the Maine Department of Education and support from Superintendent Jeremy Ray.
The school now consist of three modular structures. There is an open space that separates the structures such that students in the second grade have to walk across an open space to get to their classrooms, which can be problematic in the colder months. There is carpet in the classrooms which is problematic as students eat their lunch in the classrooms. Staff space is tight with half of one building used for five people that includes the school psychologist and a math coach.
Committees have been appointed by the school board to plan an upcoming public meeting to consider possible locations for the new school and its configuration. Announcements of such meetings and their purpose can be made known throughout a community with poster printing.
Mears said he is looking forward to when the school will have a permanent location and enough space for students, teachers, and staff.
